Strings & Pins
by Sixty Five Roses
Summary: Rusty is trying to channel his anger into his art project.


**A/N****: **This was supposed to be a crack!fic. However, it came out a bit more dramatic that originally intended. Please let me know what you think of it.

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The dining table was untidy; that was the first thing Sharon noticed as she walked towards the kitchen to make herself a cup of herbal tea. Rusty was leaning above some craft and working on it with diligence and enthusiasm Sharon rarely saw him express. She wasn't sure what he was making, but it seemed to involve some colorful strings and patches of clothes.

With two cups of steamy tea in hand, she walked to the dining table, to see what he was doing. She put on cup in front of him and then leaned above his shoulder and looked at his creation.

"What are you making?" she asked. She noticed that he had created a small cross from two sticks and was now wrapping a thick creamy twine around them. It seemed to be forming the figure of a man.

"It's an art project. Sister Agatha wants us to channel our anger into our art. And we have to use a cross in our creation." Rusty explained.

"So you're creating… Jesus?" Sharon secretly hoped he was not being brainwashed by the teachers in his school. She only sent him to St. Joseph because it was a good school and she did not intend for him to become religious.

"No, it's gonna be a doll." Rusty replied. Sharon dragged a chair and took a seat next to him, watching him as he created the doll's body and then used two more sticks to create the doll's feet. She felt proud at how creative he was and at the amount of work he put into his project. She looked at the rest of the material that was laid on the table in front of her. Some buttons, pins, red fabric and black string.

It took Rusty about an hour to finish wrapping the twine and creating the doll's body and head. He also cut the red fabric in the shape of a heart and sewed it to the left side of the doll's chest. He has also sewed the buttons as the doll's eyes and a black string as the doll's crooked and sad looking mouth. Sharon examined the final result. It was clear to her that the doll was not Jesus and the unsatisfied look on its face was eerie. She felt an odd chill going down her spine.

"Is this doll supposed to represent you?" she wondered. If Rusty was unhappy, the doll might be a good tool to express his feelings. She knew that sometimes dolls were used in order to prompt children to express their feelings, but Rusty was too old for that.

"Oh, no," he replied. He inspected the doll for a moment and turned it towards Sharon. "Sharon, meet Creepy Emma."

"She is creepy," Sharon agreed. She didn't like the doll one bit. "So this doll is supposed to represent DDA Rios?"

"Yes, it's a voodoo doll." Rusty grabbed a pin and stuck it in the doll's stomach. Sharon felt her own stomach twitch.

"Rusty, I don't think that Sister Agatha meant that you should create something that is supposed to be used in order to hate another person."

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me that you believe that it actually works," Rusty teased her as he stuck another pin into the Creepy Emma's head. Sharon looked startled.

"Of course I don't believe it actually works. I just think it's a violent way of expressing your feelings towards Emma. I'm sure you can find another way, seeing how creative you are." Sharon said.

"It's fun; you should really try it. It's a great stress reliever." He handed her a pin. "Imagine if you could make a voodoo doll of each criminal you caught. You would feel so much better about your job."

"I love my job. It feels great solving a crime and putting the murderers away. I don't need to stab a doll to feel better about what I do." Sharon said and put the pin down on the table. Rusty picked it up and stuck it just about Creepy Emma's right eye. Sharon threw a glance at her watch and was glad to see that it was almost 11 pm. "It's time for bed, Rusty." She picked up the empty mugs from the table and took them to the sink, quickly washing them and putting them in the dishwasher. Rusty gathered his things and went to his room, wishing Sharon goodnight as he walked down the hall. Sharon sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter. She was not used to seeing Rusty expressing so much aggression towards anyone or anything. It scared her to think that the sweet Rusty that she has come to know was so angry and hateful towards DDA Rios and she hoped that she could somehow sort things between them. Secretly, she also hoped that he didn't resent her the same way he did Emma, but just in case, she would sleep with her door locked tonight.


End file.
